


Joyland

by finite



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, do ppl even read the tags lol, just a little high school au for everyone, ok i better stop i'm spoiling everything in the tag, something about sunggyu crushing on his junior, woogyu going on cafe date, woogyu going to a carnival, woogyu's night phone call
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-24 04:17:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4905190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finite/pseuds/finite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sunggyu had a tiny crush on his junior, Woohyun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Joyland

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I wrote woogyu, so this time it's quite fluffy i think? I hope you guys like it <3

\--

It was Friday night. Sunggyu was lying in bed, tossing around as he tried to find a good position to sleep in. No matter how much he tried, sleep won’t come to him. He could safely blame everything on Nam Woohyun, his current crush.

Woohyun went to the same school. Technically, they could meet up every day (except for the weekends). Unfortunately for Sunggyu, Woohyun was in two grades lower than he was – which meant Woohyun was his junior. Sunggyu let out a frustrated sigh.

The reason he couldn’t sleep was because Woohyun kept occupying his thoughts. He hated how he couldn’t see the younger boy. He hated it even more that every time he saw Woohyun, he was not smiling as brightly as he used to. After some digging up, Sunggyu found out the problem.

Woohyun was stressed out.

According to Sungyeol, who was self-proclaimed Woohyun’s best friend, Woohyun was pressured to try out for the Under-19 national soccer team by his parents. And he was expected to make it through the preliminary round since he was naturally talented. Because of the expectation, Woohyun was harder on himself, practicing in his free time after school until it was past midnight. Sungyeol knew better because he was the one to keep his best friend company.

Everything spiralled down to the fact that Woohyun was unable to focus in class and ended up failing his latest three tests. The news reached his parents and now he was banned from playing soccer until he raised his grade again. The result was what Sunggyu had been witnessing for the last two weeks. Woohyun was miserable.

Sunggyu wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. He just wanted to make Woohyun feel better. He was so done seeing his lifeless eyes and heavy steps as he walked down their school’s hallway. Turning on his side, his eyes fell on his cell phone placed on the side table.  An idea came into his mind.

Grabbing his phone, he stared at the picture set as his wallpaper. His cheeks burned as he realised how creepy he was being by setting a stalker-ish picture of Woohyun sitting on the bench next to their school’s soccer field as his wallpaper. He made a mental note to change it later and quickly looked for Woohyun’s number. He didn’t know what’s gotten into him, but the next moment he realised it was too late. He was already waiting for Woohyun to pick up on the other side.

It took a while before anyone picked up though. Sunggyu almost gave up half way especially when he saw the clock on the wall read 1.29am. He instantly felt stupid for not checking the time first. Sunggyu bit his lower lip as he waited; accidentally biting it harder when Woohyun’s tired voice filled his ears.

“Hello?”

“Um, hi Woohyun?” he said hesitantly.

“Sunggyu hyung?” Sunggyu heard a sniffle, feeling his stomach drop.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m sorry, I know it’s late…”

“It’s okay. What’s up?” Woohyun asked. Sunggyu heard a faint cough.

“I just want to know how my favourite junior is doing. Um, are you okay? Are you sick?” Sunggyu asked, frowning to himself as he heard more sniffles.

“I’m fine,” Woohyun said, but his voice betrayed him. Sunggyu knew what the thickness in the younger boy’s voice when he picked up the phone meant; he had hoped earlier that he was wrong.

“Woohyun?” Sunggyu pressed, growing uneasy with the sudden silence.

“Yes?” Woohyun’s voice cracked.

“Are you…crying?” Sunggyu asked despite that he could hear Woohyun’s sobs.

“Yes,” Woohyun finally answered.

“It’s alright. Cry, Woohyun…just cry, ok? Don’t hold back. Do you want me to hang up or something? Just tell me anything. I’ll do it,” Sunggyu said in his gentlest voice.

“Don’t…hang up.”

“Okay. Then, what do you want me to do?” Sunggyu waited.

“C-Can you s-sing for me?”

Sunggyu accidentally let out a chuckle, which he felt bad afterwards when Woohyun apologised for asking weird stuff.

“No, it’s okay. Do you have any song in mind? Wait, hold that thought…”

Sunggyu basically ran to grab his guitar across the room. By the time he spoke again, he was heaving. Exercising or moving in general was really not his forte.

“I got my guitar. Come on. Just request anything you like,” Sunggyu said; his heart calming down.

“Do you know _lost_ by Michael Bublé?” Woohyun hesitantly asked.

“Okay,” Sunggyu breathed, picking at his guitar as he tuned it.

Sunggyu knew he probably would wake his sister next door, but he couldn’t care less at the moment. All he knew was that he wanted Woohyun to feel better. He wanted to be the person who can make Woohyun feel better. So, he started strumming and singing to the song Woohyun requested. By the time he finished singing the song, Woohyun sounded a lot calmer and Sunggyu actually believed him when he said he was not crying anymore.

“So, um do you have anything tomorrow morning?” Sunggyu asked, almost hitting himself with the guitar due to his nervousness.

“Uh, I usually go for a run at the park. Why?”

Woohyun sounded so clueless and cute; Sunggyu had to eat his fist to calm himself down.

“I was thinking about…I don’t know, treating you to a nice breakfast or something,” Sunggyu mumbled his words. He hated himself so much because Woohyun made him repeat since he couldn’t catch what Sunggyu had said. Sunggyu decided to rephrase.

“Would you like to have a nice breakfast with me tomorrow?” Sunggyu cringed at himself, the question sounded way too corny for his standard.

“Sure. I’d love to,” Woohyun giggled (really giggled) on the phone.

Sunggyu was sure that he was dreaming. He had to hit his thigh to make sure that it was not a dream.

“Ok cool, I’ll text you the time and place. Bye Woohyun,” Sunggyu said in a breath and hung up, which he felt extremely stupid afterwards.

After all his effort of serenading Woohyun and he even said that cheesy line to ask Woohyun out tomorrow, he just ruined it by hanging up just like that. Sunggyu palmed his face. The phone buzzed on his lap.

  _From: Woohyunnie_

_Good night, Sunggyu hyung :-)_

Sunggyu didn’t even get to type a reply when another message came in.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_Thanks for…you know_

It made Sunggyu smile. While he was typing his reply, another message came in.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_See you tomorrow_

He finished his message and pressed ‘send’. He threw his body back on his bed, drifting into sleep almost as soon as his head landed on his pillow with a smile on his face.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_Coffee Street. 8am. See you there. Good night, Woohyun :-)_

\--

Sunggyu wasn’t used to waking up early especially on weekends. Because weekends meant sleeping in until noon, until his mother’s shrill voice filled his ears demanding him to wake up and do his chores. However, today was an exception. He almost sent his mother into a cardiac arrest when he showed up in the kitchen, freshly shower with his hair nicely combed and he was wearing a pale blue plaid shirt instead of the usual ugly grey hoodie.

“You look nice, young man. Are you going somewhere?” His mother asked as he went over to greet her with the traditional morning pecks on her cheeks.

“Yes.” Sunggyu was blushing.

His mother cooed at him and tried to mess his hair, saying that he looked too formal that he might scare his ‘date’. Sunggyu froze at the mention of that word. He hadn’t thought about it yesterday.

‘Does it mean I’m going on a date with Woohyun? We didn’t really specify yesterday. Ugh, this is so frustrating.’ He frowned as he was having his inner monologue.

“Don’t frown. You’re going to get old faster,” she said, pressing a finger between Sunggyu’s eyebrows to ease the frown. But obviously Sunggyu was freaking out, which his mother noticed.

“Calm down, good lord. You’re almost 18 and you’re going on a breakfast date, I’m guessing? Just relax and be yourself. Woohyun’s gonna love you,” his mother said, winking at him.

“Mom! Did you read my messages?” Sunggyu almost shouted; his eyes widened when he saw the playful look on her face.

“I can’t believe you!”

“Well, I can’t believe you finally asked him out. It’s been almost two years, honey,” she chuckled before adding, “and oh, if you don’t get a move now, you’re going to be late, Gyu.”

“Shit,” Sunggyu cursed as he looked at his wristwatch; it’s 7.40.

Sunggyu ran to the said café that he texted Woohyun last night. Honestly, it wasn’t that far from his house, but he still panted like he had just run a marathon when he reached his destination. To his luck, Woohyun was not there yet.

Breathing in easily, he walked inside and picked a table that overlooked the street – thinking that Woohyun would really appreciate the nice view. He glanced at his watch, it was 7.50. He wanted to wait for Woohyun, so they could order together, but his stomach was already rumbling in protest. So he stood up to make his way to the counter.

To his surprise, Woohyun tapped him on his shoulder when he was queueing and flashed him a sheepish smile.

“Am I late? You didn’t wait long, right?” Woohyun asked, the sweats trickling down his temples told Sunggyu that he had also been running to the café. Sunggyu smiled at the younger boy, instinctively patting his head – earning him a blushing Woohyun.

“I just got here. Come. Let’s order something. I’m starving.”

When they sat down at the spot Sunggyu had chosen earlier, there was a smile plastered on Woohyun’s face. Sunggyu let Woohyun take the seat facing the view outside since it was his intention as he picked that particular table in hope that Woohyun would like it. The younger boy looked pleased, to his joy.

“Are you feeling better?” Sunggyu asked, his lips mirroring the smile on Woohyun’s face.

“Yes! Thank you, Gyu hyung,” Woohyun exclaimed, a little too happy to be true.

Sunggyu saw through him though, he was obviously trying. He noticed the puffiness around Woohyun’s eyes and the slightly red eyes. Woohyun, who noticed that Sunggyu was staring, kept his head down as if trying to hide the obvious tell-tale sign that he was crying all night long.

Realising his mistake in making the younger boy look uncomfortable, Sunggyu took off the fake reading glasses that he was wearing and put them on Woohyun. The glasses looked big on his slightly smaller face and head, Sunggyu had to push them back as they slid down Woohyun’s straight nose.

“Why are you giving me this?” Woohyun asked in confusion, his eyes curious.

“You look good. Keep them,” Sunggyu smiled, not wanting to point out the obvious.

Woohyun looked relieved as Sunggyu started eating his breakfast. The younger boy decided to follow suit. They spent a good ten minutes eating in silence, occasionally Woohyun would point out to the people he found interesting walking down the road. They shared about what they usually did on the weekends, their hobbies, their likes and dislikes and practically every possible interesting topic that two high school boys could be talking about, except school.

It was almost ten in the morning when they realised that they had been sitting down for two hours, talking and laughing, ignoring other people and basically, they were in their own world. It was amazing, Sunggyu thought as he saw Woohyun’s mood was obviously becoming better and better the more they talked. He felt strangely disappointed and empty when they had to part ways.

“Um, so…I guess I see you around? At school maybe?” Sunggyu said, reaching out a hand for Woohyun to shake.

He could see the reluctance in the younger boy’s eyes when he shook his hand though. Sunggyu was slightly comforted, seeing how Woohyun’s shoulders drooped as if he didn’t want this to end, too.

“I don’t know…you’re probably going to be busy with your upcoming final projects and stuff, and I’m also going to be kinda busy so…”

God, Sunggyu wanted to kiss that pout on Woohyun’s face away. He realised he had to find a quick solution, to make this work between them. His face literally brightened as he thought of an idea.

“Wait, Woohyun. You’re always free on Saturdays, right?”

“Yeah?” Woohyun looked clueless, not understanding what Sunggyu was getting at.

“What do you say about making this,” Sunggyu pointed to the both of them and the café behind him, “a tradition?”

“A t-tradition?” Woohyun repeated after him, looking like he was deep in his thought.

This was not the reaction Sunggyu expected though. He expected Woohyun to be jumping excitedly on his feet. But then Woohyun flashed his precious sheepish smile that sent flutters to Sunggyu’s heart. He decided that he liked this reaction too.

“So, are you cool with it?” Sunggyu asked hesitantly, seeing how Woohyun was still keeping his silence.

“I’d like that,” Woohyun muttered softly, biting his lips.

Sunggyu thought he looked very adorable. Without him thinking much about it, his hands reached out to pinch both Woohyun’s cheeks and the words that left his lips could no longer be stopped.

“God, why are you so cute?”

“Hyung~” Woohyun whined, which made him even cuter (and Sunggyu pinched his cheeks harder – earning him another whine).

“It hurts,” Woohyun rubbed his reddened cheeks with a pout after Sunggyu released him.

“Aigoo,” Sunggyu cooed at the younger boy. Honestly, he had no intention in teasing Woohyun, but he guessed that it was his natural reflex, especially since he had been holding himself back from pinching those slightly chubby cheeks.

“There, feel better?” Sunggyu asked in a low whisper, he didn’t even realise that he was standing closer to Woohyun as he rubbed the younger boy’s cheeks affectionately.

“Hyung, what are you doing?” Woohyun asked, slightly embarrassed as they were garnering people’s attention for their slight PDA.

“Oh right, sorry,” Sunggyu stepped back, chuckling when he saw Woohyun’s disappointed expression.

“So, yeah bye,” Woohyun said, turning away in a rush in hope that Sunggyu hadn’t seen his red cheeks.

Sunggyu grabbed his hoodie and pulled him back. “Woohyun, wait.”

“Is there something else you want to say, Sunggyu hyung?”

Keeping his silence, Sunggyu touched Woohyun’s hair and started petting him with a small smile playing on his lips. Woohyun who was one inch shorter than Sunggyu had to look up a little, not understanding the gesture that made his cheeks burn and his heart beat faster.

“Sunggyu hyung?”

“Go home safely, okay? Text me when you’re there,” Sunggyu said, he was already walking backwards, waving at Woohyun with a contented smile on his face.

“You too, hyung! Text me!” Woohyun shouted, waving at the retreating senior.

\--

Their tradition of having breakfast together every Saturday mornings became something that both of them looked forward to every week. No matter how bad their weeks might feel like, they always ended up forgetting all the hardships just because they looked forward to seeing each other every weekend. Both of them had no idea what they were. One thing for sure was that they were definitely more than normal friends, judging from the soft gaze that lingered a bit too long when the other was not looking.

It was nearing his graduation when Sunggyu realised that his tiny crush on Woohyun had developed into something more, something bigger. He started becoming more nervous around Woohyun, afraid that if he messed up, the younger boy would start avoiding him. Despite being deep in his dilemma, he also noticed something else – Woohyun, too, started looking more and more stressed out as the school year was coming to an end.

It was a surprise because from what he heard, Woohyun managed to raise his grades up and he even got back to playing soccer, with less pressure from his parents who had noticed how stressed out Woohyun was when they pressured him about his soccer and his studies. After a little coaxing from Sungyeol, who claimed that he was protecting the national secret, he finally figured out what was wrong with the younger boy.

Woohyun was afraid.

He was scared that after the school year ended, he won’t be seeing Sunggyu anymore. He was terrified that Sunggyu soon would pack his bag to live in other city, to pursue his dream, to move on with his life. Woohyun believed that Sunggyu would be gone soon, gone from here, gone from his life.

Sunggyu smiled to himself, torn between feeling extremely happy because it meant that Woohyun was probably attached to him just as much as he was for the younger boy, or just sad at how true Woohyun’s fears were.  He decided that he needed to do something. To convince Woohyun that he was not just a temporary phase in Sunggyu’s life.

Sunggyu was going to confess.

So, Sunggyu started planning everything, down to the littlest details. And he wanted the special event to happen in their school’s annual prom night for the seniors. Originally, juniors were not supposed to attend, unless they came as someone’s date. Sunggyu was going to make Woohyun his date for the special night.

He walked with springs in his feet, eager to see the younger boy. He should be able to catch Woohyun before the boy’s first period at the gym. However, when he reached school, he saw a large crowd of students crowding their official announcement board. He heard the students’ loud sighs and protests, feeling a sense of dread in his stomach. He slowly read what was written on the board and felt his heart almost stopping.

‘This can’t be.’

“Sunggyu, you okay buddy?” Dongwoo patted him on his back.

“The p-prom night…it got cancelled,” Sunggyu muttered in disbelief.

“Yeah, I know. I came in early today, way before the seniors freaking out when they heard the news. It’s a shame. I thought we’re going to make another great memory before we graduate. I guess not, huh? Anyway, I gotta run. See you in class, Gyu!”

Just like that Dongwoo was gone, leaving Sunggyu in his misery. He couldn’t believe he spent the whole night planning everything only to find out that the prom night was cancelled. Now, he had no idea what to do. His mind was blank. He heard the loud bell announcing the first period was about to start, but he was still rooted in front of the announcement board. His throat felt dry and he felt this sudden burn in his eyes, his vision blurry.

“Yah, student! Get to class!” The discipline teacher, Mr Choi yelled at him.

He felt the cane hit his legs, but he felt numb. The next thing he realised was that he had buckled under his feet, faintly hearing Mr Choi’s panicked voice. Then, he blacked out.

\--

 “So, is he okay?” Sunggyu heard noises. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy.

“He’s fine. Just a little dehydrated and he needs some rest. It seems that he fainted due to lack of sleep. Is he a senior?” The nurse fixed the blanket on his body.

“Yes. Kim Sunggyu from class 3A. He’s a smart kid, I guess he spent the night studying again. So, I’ll leave him in your care, Miss Ahn.”

When Sunggyu was sure that there was no one left in the infirmary, he slowly opened his eyes. He still couldn’t believe he fainted. Suddenly, he felt like laughing. His life felt like a drama right now. But then, it dawned on him. He hadn’t thought about any contingency plan.

“Ugh,” he groaned as he sat down.

He felt really drained. He didn’t even realise that he didn’t get to sleep at all last night.

“Oh, you’re awake? Go back to sleep. I can see that you need them.”

The nurse must have seen his contemplating expression because she added, “Don’t worry. Mr Choi excused you from attending today’s classes. I can call your parents if you prefer to rest at home though.”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll rest for another hour, but can you not tell Mr Choi that I want to return to class after that?” Sunggyu had to lie. He didn’t even plan to go to class. He just wanted to see Woohyun.

“Hm…Are you sure you’re okay though? I don’t want you fainting again.”

“I’m sure. I’m fine. I just need an hour of nap, that’s all.”

“Okay. If you need anything, I’ll be in my office.”

Sunggyu mentally fist pumped. He lied back down, closing his eyes and almost immediately drifted into a pleasant sleep. He needed that nap and then, he would get out of this place. Words travelled fast in his school and the last thing he needed was to make Woohyun worry about him being in the infirmary.

\--

To Sunggyu’s surprise, Woohyun was absent. He decided that he didn’t want to attend class after all and managed to convince Miss Ahn that he didn’t feel well and would rather rest at home. His worried mother came to pick him up.

He should have expected her to fuss over him in the car, nagging at how he was eating less and sleeping less. Also how he needed to stop studying every second. It was not even true because most of the time he spent studying, he was actually daydreaming about Woohyun, looking forward to their weekend ‘date’.

The first thing he did when he got home was to fetch his phone and see if there was any message he missed this morning. Though he was disappointed that there was none, he still wanted to know why Woohyun was absent. So, he sent a message.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_I heard you’re absent. Are you okay?_

Not even one minute later, he received a reply. He smiled; it was as if Woohyun was waiting for his message.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_Hyung~~ I miss you…I’m okay. I caught conjunctivitis from my brother T_T_

Sunggyu’s eyes widened at the new information.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_OMG! Are you ok? Is it serious? :(_

He bit his nails as he waited for Woohyun’s reply.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_It’s not serious, I think. It’s just highly contagious. I’m on house-quarantine -_-_

A second later, another message came in.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_And the doc gave me an MC. I get the week off, so I’ll be missing classes (and hyung) :(_

The younger boy’s dumbness (and cuteness) would never fail to bring smile on Sunggyu’s face.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_Aigoo my poor puppy. Can I call you? Is it contagious if we talk through phone too?_

He pressed ‘send’. He knew it wasn’t the case, but he still wanted to be ridiculous and dumb with Woohyun.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_Hyung~~ Call me? Please? *puppy eyes*_

Sunggyu laughed to himself, already imagining the visual. He got up from his bed to retrieve his guitar and went back. He knew that the younger boy would somehow request him to sing something again (like how he always made Sunggyu sing something whenever they had a phone call).

“Hyung~” The younger boy’s ridiculously whiny voice was the first thing that greeted him. It was ridiculous because it was Woohyun, but Sunggyu just found himself loving the idiot more and more.

So, they spent the rest of their afternoon talking on the phone. Sunggyu even forgot about his earlier misery regarding the cancellation of the prom night. However, he was disappointed that Woohyun told him they would have to break their tradition this weekend due to his eye condition.

“Can’t you wear sunglasses out or something?” Sunggyu begged.

All he heard was deep sigh over the phone. He had a feeling that something was wrong.

“Woohyun-ah, what’s wrong?”

More sighs. It made Sunggyu grow restless and nervous. Was this how break up supposed to feel? Because at that moment, it felt like Woohyun was going to break up with him (despite that they never went out in the first place).

“Woohyun?”

The line was dead.

“Did he…did he just hang up?” Sunggyu mumbled, speechless.

Then, he received a message. His heart almost stopped, his fingers shaking as he clicked to read the message.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_I’m sorry about this weekend, hyung._

He didn’t even hesitate to type in his reply.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_It’s ok. I understand. You’re sick._

However, Woohyun’s next message only came two minutes later (he counted).

_From: Woohyunnie_

_Actually…I have something to ask you, but can you promise not to get mad at me?_

Sunggyu knew it. He didn’t like this at all. He swallowed the lump in his throat and replied.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_What is it, Woohyun? I can’t promise you, but I’ll try_

He waited. Then, it came. But it was not a normal message, he realised.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_WillyougotothiscarnivalwithmeSunggyuhyung?_

He saw the picture. It was a pamphlet of a funfair that was taking place in a small town 20km from their city. Sunggyu couldn’t stop it. The tears that rolled down his cheeks were tears of happiness.

_To: Woohyunnie._

_You idiot! You scared me!_

Woohyun’s message came almost right after he pressed ‘send’.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_So? What do you say? Do you want to…I mean I’m not forcing you, I understand that it’s kinda ridiculous and childish…_

Sunggyu was not even thinking as he instinctively replied to Woohyun’s message.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_Dumb Hyun! Of course I’ll go with you. I’m happy to go anywhere with you :)_

A smile crept up on his face as he read Woohyun’s next message.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_So, I’ll wait for you at the main bus terminal on Saturday?_

He quickly typed a reply.

_To: Woohyunnie_

_Sure. Be there at 5pm. We can have our dinner at the carnival._

Another message brought a wider smile onto his face.

_From: Woohyunnie_

_Great! I can’t wait :)_

_To: Woohyunnie_

_Me too :)_

He placed his phone on the night stand after typing in the last message. Lying on his bed, he dreamily stared at his boring ceiling. Sunggyu really couldn’t wait for the week to be over.

\--

Woohyun’s sudden invite to the carnival actually gave Sunggyu some great ideas. However, knowing his luck, he knew that it’d be ruined before he even tried. So, he decided that he didn’t want to fuss about the details (he didn’t want a repeat of him fainting in school and worrying his mom again) and figured that he’d definitely confess, impulsively. Sunggyu prayed to lord that everything would run smoothly for him (and Woohyun) that day.

Unfortunately, Sunggyu knew that he was doomed when he was an hour late to the main bus terminal. He had taken his usual afternoon naps and somehow, he overslept. He didn’t think much and dress in the clothes he had thankfully laid out the night before. Grabbing his phone, he frowned when there was no new notification from Woohyun. No call, no text message, nothing. He felt his stomach drop.

Sunggyu decided to give Woohyun a call as he walked down the stairs, trying to locate his mother. He still needed her to send him to the bus terminal. He hissed a curse word under his breath when the call was diverted into Woohyun’s voice mail. He silently prayed that Woohyun would still be there, though he felt guilty as hell.

“Mom, can you send me…”

“Come on,” his mother cut him, taking off her apron. She grabbed her car key on the coffee table in the living room as Sunggyu gaped at her in disbelief.

“Wait, you know?”

“Of course I know, honey. I know everything,” she said with a knowing look in her eyes, but Sunggyu was too furious at the moment.

“And you didn’t wake me? Mom!” Sunggyu honestly felt like crying. He could feel the heat in his cheeks as he tried to keep his breathing under control.

“What do you mean?” she innocently asked.

“I’m one hour late,” Sunggyu mumbled, keeping his head down as his eyes stung from the first batch of fresh tears.

“Hey…Gyu?” His mother approached him, catching the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

“Aw, why is my baby crying?” She whispered; her own eyes watering as she wrapped her arms around Sunggyu.

She was a little shorter than her high schooler son, but at that moment, Sunggyu felt so small in her embrace.

“Woohyun might still be waiting for me…he must have hated me, thinking that I broke our promise,” he muttered, choking on his own sobs.

“Sh…it’s okay. It’s not too late. Come on, you don’t want Woohyun to keep on waiting,” she said, already pulling Sunggyu out of the house.

Sunggyu wiped the remaining tears on his cheeks as he got into the car. He didn’t know what made him so emotional like this. His mother squeezed one of his hands and offered him a comforting smile, though it still didn’t make him feel better and less guilty for being late.

When they were getting nearer to the bus terminal, he realised that he had forgotten to put on his wristwatch. Sighing, he glanced at the time displayed on the car clock. He did a double take at the displayed time, his eyes widening at the impossibility.

“Mom? Is this clock correct?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure it is,” she said, chuckling to herself.

Sunggyu had a bad feeling that she knew something. Slowly, he turned just in time to see a wide, accomplished smile on his mother’s face.

“Mom!”

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry, okay? I just want to see your reaction and I asked your sister to help,” she said, still laughing softly.

“I hate you,” Sunggyu pouted, crossing his arms before turning his head to look outside.

‘Woohyun, wait for me.’

\--

As he expected, Woohyun was already waiting for him. He observed the younger boy in the distance. He was dressed quite casually – a simple red knitted top with a pair of dark jeans. Woohyun was doing this weird habit he had with his feet when he’s anxious. Sunggyu smiled, finding the strange habit very adorable. Without wasting time, he briskly approached the boy and jumped on him as he engulfed Woohyun in an almost bone-crushing hug.

“Did you wait long? I’m sorry, I know I’m late,” Sunggyu whispered in Woohyun’s ears. He saw Woohyun’s ear turning red at their closeness.

“Hyung…” Woohyun whined, trying to push Sunggyu away. But Sunggyu only tightened his arms around the slightly smaller and shorter boy.

“You’re not mad, right?” Sunggyu asked.

He didn’t like it how Woohyun was still trying to push him away. Reluctantly, he let the younger boy go. He observed how Woohyun’s face was flushed and he was taking a deep breath as if to calm himself down.

“What…” he was about to ask when Woohyun grabbed his hand, locking their fingers together and started running.

“Yah, Woohyun! What are you doing?” Sunggyu panted as he tried to match Woohyun’s fast running pace.

“We’re gonna…” Woohyun breathed as he pulled Sunggyu onto a bus just in time before the bus made its move. “…be late,” he finished.

The bus was crowded with people. Sunggyu tried to spot any empty seat, so that they could both sit down, considering how he almost felt like he was going to pass out. Disappointed when he didn’t find any, he turned his attention back at the boy in front of him. Even Woohyun who’s very athletic was still panting.

A few minutes into the bus ride, the bus made a sudden turn. Not expecting the occurrence, Woohyun’s head accidentally knocked against Sunggyu’s shoulder as Sunggyu’s hands instinctively held the younger boy’s arms to stabilise him. However, even when the bus was back to its normal speed and bearing, Woohyun remained in his current position – his forehead resting on Sunggyu’s shoulder.

“Woohyun? You okay?”

Woohyun nodded against his shoulder. “C-Can we stay like this for a while?”

Sunggyu looked around and made sure no one was paying attention to them before encircling his arms loosely around Woohyun’s waist. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his ribcages. Their proximity was killing him. He wanted that moment to last, to be frozen in his memory forever. Unfortunately, good things would always come to an end.

He quickly let go when the bus braked at their stop, noticing how Woohyun looked disappointed at how fast things changed. Feeling brave, he intertwined their fingers together and exited the bus. He smiled too, as the smile on the younger boy’s face got wider, his eyes looking down at their interlocked hands.

They walked towards the carnival hand in hand, a light hum under his breath as he heard Woohyun cutely rambled about his plan to get on every single ride available at the carnival. Observing how Woohyun’s eyes brightened up as he mentioned about all the things he would like to try at the funfair, he thought that it was beautiful. Woohyun was beautiful. And his heart couldn’t have possibly picked anyone else more perfect yet flawed to fall in love with.

“Hyung? Is there something on my face?” Woohyun asked, rubbing at his cheeks in case there was anything stuck to them.

“Nothing,” Sunggyu hummed.

“But you were staring,” Woohyun mumbled quietly as if he didn’t understand why Sunggyu would do so.

“It’s because you’re so cute,” Sunggyu confessed, chuckling as Woohyun reddened at the compliment.

“Hyung, you’re making me so…” Woohyun didn’t finish. Instead he took his hand back and stalked off towards the carnival entrance in a ridiculously fast pace, leaving Sunggyu to laugh softly at his adorableness.

“Yah Woohyun! Wait for me,” he shouted and decided to run after the younger boy.

When he grabbed onto Woohyun’s arm and turned the boy’s body to face him, Woohyun was holding onto his cheeks with both hands. Sunggyu wanted to scream at the ridiculous amount of cuteness oozing from Woohyun that day. He was also confused of where all his bravery came from as he pulled Woohyun’s hands away from his face only to replace them with his own.

Sunggyu rubbed at the redness in Woohyun’s cheeks, hoping that it would go away, though he knew that he was making the boy’s condition worse. However, he was not expecting Woohyun to lean into his touch with the widest contented smile on his face. Now, it was Sunggyu’s turn to blush at the unexpected response. He gave Woohyun’s chubby cheeks another stroke before letting go which led to the younger boy pouting again. Taking Woohyun’s hand in his, he started dragging the boy towards the carnival again.

It was almost dark when they arrived at the town. There were quite a number of people at the funfair. People were walking in both directions, bumping into both Sunggyu and Woohyun. Sunggyu had lost count of how many times he had to pull Woohyun close to his side, so they won’t get separated.  When they reached a slightly less crowded part of the place, Sunggyu turned Woohyun to face him.

“Did you do your research before suggesting this place?” Sunggyu asked; his tone calm.

Woohyun kept his head down.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked in a small voice – to which Sunggyu frowned at him.

“I’m not mad, Woohyun. I’m just asking because I don’t know about you, but I’m really hungry. And I’m sure you notice that there’s no cafes or restaurants in here,” Sunggyu said.

As if on cue, Woohyun’s stomach started grumbling too. The younger boy went to grab his stomach, still looking at his feet.

“Hey…I’m not mad, okay?” Sunggyu whispered, lifting Woohyun’s chin so that they were finally looking at each other.

“God, Woohyun,” Sunggyu said as he pulled Woohyun into a hug, instantly rubbing the younger boy’s back to comfort him.

He felt guilty because obviously he scared Woohyun and caught the boy off guard when he started questioning him. Sighing, he pulled away and forced Woohyun to look at him again.

“Let’s get something to eat first, okay? Then, we’ll play,” Sunggyu said, poking at the corner of Woohyun’s lips until he was smiling again.

“But where? I mean, there isn’t any place to eat in here,” Woohyun muttered, the pout climbing back onto his face.

“Stop pouting,” Sunggyu poked at his fat lips, “I saw a nice café right before the bus let us come down at the stop.”

That was how they walked to the café Sunggyu saw on their journey to the carnival. Though he was not fond of walking or any form of exercise, walking hand in hand with Woohyun in a warm, romantic atmosphere like this felt really nice.

When they reached the café, Sunggyu stopped Woohyun from sitting across him, though it was their normal seating arrangement. Tonight, he wanted things to change. So, he pulled Woohyun to sit next to him on the twin couch. The younger boy looked puzzled at first, but then tried to hide his blush when he realised what Sunggyu was trying to do.

After the waiter left with their order, Sunggyu took Woohyun’s cold hand and rubbed it in between his hands.

“Hyung…what are you doing? I’m fine,” Woohyun muttered, the tips of his ears were turning red.

“You’re cold, I’m just helping,” Sunggyu replied casually, still holding onto Woohyun’s hand even when he’s done ‘warming’ Woohyun up.

“And why are you sitting too far? Scoot closer. Or do you want hyung to do so?”

It was almost funny to see how Woohyun’s face was filled with panic for a split second before he hurriedly scooted closer to Sunggyu’s side. But to Woohyun’s surprise, Sunggyu complained that it was not close enough before closing the remaining gap they had between them. Now, they were practically sitting shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, leaving no room for any distance.

“Do you hate it?” Sunggyu asked, surprising Woohyun again, but this time it was because of the difference in his tone, his voice. Woohyun was not used to a nervous-sounding Sunggyu.

“N-No. I…I like it, Gyu hyung,” Woohyun said. To prove that he meant it, he squeezed Sunggyu’s hand.

“Um…I’ve been wanting to tell you something, Woohyun-ah…” Sunggyu muttered. He stared ahead instead of looking at Woohyun. However, Woohyun wasn’t having any of it as he felt Woohyun’s hand on his cheek, turning his head as it forced their eyes to meet.

“I’m listening, hyung,” Woohyun said, taking a deep breath himself before continuing, “Whatever it is that you want to tell me, I want you to look at me.”

“I…” Sunggyu swallowed a huge lump that seemed to be holding him from saying the words he’s been wanting to tell Woohyun all this time. “I…” He tried again; unfortunately they were disturbed when the waiter returned with their food.

“Enjoy your food,” the waiter said and left them.

Sunggyu bit his lips. This was a lot harder than he imagined. He thought it was easy to tell Woohyun that he liked him, but it clearly wasn’t. The younger boy was still looking at him, anticipating what he was going to say. Sighing, Sunggyu told Woohyun that they should eat first. He didn’t miss the disappointed look at the younger boy’s face though.

Woohyun somehow finished eating before he did, which was a first because the boy was usually a slow eater. Sunggyu didn’t think much of it when Woohyun excused himself, saying that he was just going to the gents. However, ten minutes passed and the boy still hadn’t returned. He decided to pay first before he went to check Woohyun in the restroom, but was surprised when he was told that Woohyun had paid for their meals.

Now, the big question was Woohyun’s whereabouts as he didn’t find him in the gents. Sunggyu started getting worried over the younger boy. He glanced down at his wristwatch. It was already a little after 8. They still had time to enjoy the carnival and they could catch the last bus at 11. But Woohyun was nowhere to be found. Sunggyu decided to call Woohyun.

“Yah, where are you?” he almost yelled at the boy when Woohyun picked up. Sunggyu heard some background noises and figured that Woohyun was already at the carnival or at least close to the place.

Sighing loudly, he asked, “Why did you run away, Woohyun?”

“I didn’t,” Woohyun spoke for the first time.

“Then, what do you call this? I was worried, you idiot,” Sunggyu hissed, he was already walking back to the carnival, in hope that he’d meet the boy along the way.

“I just want hyung to find me,” Woohyun said. Even when he couldn’t see Woohyun’s face, he could picture the boy smiling sheepishly on the other side of the line.

“Where are you?” Sunggyu asked.

“Guess,” Woohyun sounded strangely playful tonight.

“Alright. Wait there. I’m on my way,” Sunggyu announced and was about to hang up when Woohyun stopped him.

“What is it, Woohyun-ah?”

The line was silent for a moment that Sunggyu was convinced Woohyun had hung up, if it’s not for his soft breathing.

“Woohyun?”

“I…I like you, Sunggyu hyung,” Woohyun said, his voice trembling.

“What?” Sunggyu felt stupid for reacting like that. He knew he should have said that he liked Woohyun back, but because of his stupidity, the line was dead before he could mend his mistake.

“Shit.” Sunggyu ran.

\--

Sunggyu found Woohyun crouching near the entrance of the carnival. He quickly approached the boy and pulled him back to stand on his feet.

“Yah, how can you hang up after you said that?” Sunggyu asked. He saw the redness in Woohyun’s cheeks and he knew that he was probably looking a lot worse than Woohyun at the moment because of the things he was going to tell the younger boy.

“B-Because y-you might not feel the same,” Woohyun replied, nervously biting his lips.

Sunggyu gently rubbed his knuckle against Woohyun’s head.

“Dumb! Do you think I hold all my friends’ hand, take them out to a breakfast date every weekend, hug them every so often and always sit too close? Do you really think I don’t feel the same?” Sunggyu asked – he was still out of breath as he was running before.

“I don’t know,” Woohyun said, shaking his head stubbornly as if he found it hard to believe that there was a great chance that Sunggyu felt the same way.

“Look at me, Woohyun,” Sunggyu whispered, tugging at the boy’s chin to stare deep into his eyes, “I’m pretty sure I don’t do this with my friends.” And then Sunggyu kissed him.

Sunggyu was glad that the place was quite neglected and dark, despite being near the entrance because he couldn’t stop himself from living in the feel of Woohyun’s lips against his. It was just a simple kiss yet, Sunggyu’s hands cupping Woohyun’s face as the boy’s arms instantly were instantly wrapped around Sunggyu’s neck. When the parted, Sunggyu could see the dark flush in Woohyun’s cheeks yet he could see the obvious want in the younger boy’s eyes. Sunggyu gave him another peck before detaching himself from Woohyun.

“Hyung~”

“Come on, you said you want to play. Let’s go or we’re gonna miss all the good rides,” Sunggyu said, grabbing Woohyun’s hand and pulling him towards the carnival.

He was totally not expecting Woohyun to sneakily kiss his cheek before running away as he taunted Sunggyu to catch him. Sunggyu shook his head at the boy’s dumbness (and cuteness), rubbing his burning cheek and trying to keep track of the boy’s movement, so they won’t get separated again for the night.

“Yah, don’t run away again,” Sunggyu scolded Woohyun as they queued up for the roller coaster ride. The boy flashed him an apologetic smile. Sunggyu knew Woohyun was probably feeling bad at the moment as the boy purposely linked their arms together.

“You’re not scared of height?” Sunggyu asked as they were being seated by the staff.

“A little?” Woohyun answered. Sunggyu’s eyes widened at the new information.

“Why are you so stupid? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Sunggyu scolded him again.

“I’ll survive, hyung. God, you worry more than my mom,” Woohyun chuckled.

Realising his mistake, Sunggyu apologised, though Woohyun insisted that it was cool because Sunggyu was cute when he got worried like a mother hen. Sunggyu should have known better than to believe in Woohyun’s weak attempt at lying because the roller coaster was the first and the last ride they took. He sighed, patting Woohyun’s back as the boy puked his gut out after they came down from the ride, emptying his dinner.

“This is why you shouldn’t be so stubborn, Hyun,” Sunggyu said, helping Woohyun to wipe his lips before proceeding to help him to wash his face.

“Are you feeling better?” Sunggyu asked.

“I ruined our first date, didn’t I?” Woohyun said sadly.

“No, you didn’t. Don’t say that, okay? I had fun tonight,” Sunggyu smiled, “Though I wasn’t planning to confess like I did.”

“What’s your plan of confessing?” Woohyun asked, letting Sunggyu hold his waist as they exited the restroom together.

So, Sunggyu told Woohyun about the prom night and all the details he’s planned and how it was ruined when the event was cancelled. He also told Woohyun how he overdramatically fainted after hearing the news as if his world was going to end. Sunggyu was planning to skip that part, but seeing how Woohyun’s shoulders shook as he laughed, Sunggyu was glad he told Woohyun.

“So…where’ the ‘couple thing’ you bought?” Woohyun asked, Sunggyu could tell that he was hopeful.

“I’ll give it to you later, okay?” Sunggyu said, earning him a sulky pout from Woohyun, which Sunggyu kissed it away.

“Hyung!” Woohyun complained, holding his lips.

“What? Now I can’t even kiss my boyfriend?”

“I just threw up like five minutes ago, remember?” Woohyun admitted sheepishly.

“Way to ruin the moment, dumb,” Sunggyu said jokingly, but Sunggyu gave him another kiss anyway.

“Hyung…if I ask you to go to another funfair with me, would you accept it?”

Sunggyu felt sorry because he burst out laughing after hearing the younger boy’s question.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just funny. After knowing that you’re scared of height, you still want to go to a carnival like this?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun vigorously nodded like he meant it and the seriousness in his eyes was almost funny to Sunggyu.

“Alright. But next time, I’m taking you to a real amusement park, okay? A real joyland,” Sunggyu promised.

“Stamp on it,” Woohyun said, still with the seriousness in his eyes.

“Stamp? Do you mean pinky promise?”

“No,” Woohyun blushed, to Sunggyu’s surprise, “here,” he pointed it to his lips and suddenly everything made sense to Sunggyu.

Sunggyu leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Woohyun’s lips.

“Like this?” He whispered against Woohyun’s lips and felt the younger boy nod against his.

“Like this,” Woohyun repeated after Sunggyu and pressed harder against Sunggyu. After it felt like a lifetime, they parted with satisfied yet shy smiles on their faces.

They managed to catch the last bus to go back home. Woohyun was probably dead tired as he fell almost immediately asleep on the bus, his head resting against Sunggyu’s shoulder. Sunggyu had never felt at ease before. Nothing went as he planned today yet he felt like there was nothing else that could have been more perfect than this.

He took out a pair of necklaces from his jeans pocket, smiling as he saw it glimmer even in the dull lighting of the bus. With a little difficulty, he managed to put it on the sleeping boy next to him before wearing one around his neck.  It might be a cheesy gesture to some people, but he wanted the both of them to have something that would remind them that this was real, that they were real.  They were together. Finally.

\-- 

 

**Author's Note:**

> How was it? Leave a kudo if you think this one deserves it please :)) and I'm always happy for comments!


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